


Her Smile

by ChemistryDuck



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Garreg Mach Monastery (Fire Emblem), Gift Giving, POV Hilda Valentine Goneril, Picnics, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29319291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChemistryDuck/pseuds/ChemistryDuck
Summary: Over the past few moons, Hilda found herself wanting to spend more and more time with Marianne. It had started out practically, Marianne seemed like someone who would help her with chores. Now, Hilda just wants to be with her more often and see her beautiful smile. Marianne agreed to spend the day together, and Hilda is determined to make it perfect.Some Mari and Hilda fluff for Valentine's Day
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund & Hilda Valentine Goneril, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Kudos: 12





	Her Smile

Hilda had been preparing for today for weeks. She had finally convinced Marianne that she wasn't a burden and that it would be fun to spend time together. Hilda felt oddly nervous. Why was she so nervous? Mari was great, and Hilda had been looking forward to it since she had asked. So why did her stomach feel all fluttery, she thought, brushing her palms against her skirt to warm them.

\---

This feeling had been growing for moons. When she first met Marianne, she had barely noticed the shy girl. Hilda remembered bumping into her and before she could apologize, Marianne had already blamed herself completely. After getting to know her a bit better, Mari had seemed like someone she could get to do favours. As time went by, though, she had realized that Marianne was much too clumsy for that and had spent a couple of afternoons cleaning up with her. One particular incident in the infirmary had been enough to put an end to that. It was a good thing there was medical supplies everywhere, she ended up needing to bandage Mari's hand. After she had stopped going to Marianne for help with chores, Hilda started to miss talking with her. The shy girl was a good listener and despite ending up doing more work, Hilda enjoyed cleaning with her. She had even thought about asking for help with something really delicate so they could chat for hours. She never followed through with it, though.

Recently, the professor had paired them up for some extra tasks. Marianne genuinely seemed at peace in the stables. The smile on Marianne's face when caring for the horses filled Hilda with a warm fluttery feeling. It was so rare to see a smile like that from Marianne. She couldn't look away. Every time she thought about that day, she smiled herself. Hilda wondered if Marianne thought about her smile. She realized she hoped so. Hilda actually started looking forward to working in the stable each Friday. What was happening to her?

\---

Hilda continued getting ready as she reminisced over the past few moons. She smiled in the mirror as she closed the clasp of her favourite pendant. Turning towards her desk, she shifted aside some beads and added a small box to a basket on the bed. She had carefully wrapped it in a teal ribbon yesterday. After checking over the basket's contents a final time, she took a deep breath and headed out the door.

Taking a moment to collect herself, Hilda knocked on her neighbour's door. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long; Marianne opened the door almost immediately. She was dressed in a beautiful light blue sundress and tucked a final pin into her hair. After reassuring Marianne that she did want to spend time with her, Hilda explained that they were heading to the stables. During the course of the walk there, multiple strands of Marianne's hair had already started to come undone. Hilda resisted the urge to help her tuck it back into place.

Hilda had gone to the stables earlier in the morning to have their transportation ready to go. Marianne gasped as she walked over to Dorte's stall: the horse was already saddled and had been brushed until his coat shone. Her favourite horse's mane and tail had been braided and small pink and blue forget-me-nots were tucked into the plait. After a few pats, Marianne led Dorte outside the monastery and mounted. She was joined a moment later by Hilda, who had finished tying down the basket she had brought. It wasn't long before the two of them were travelling through the surrounding fields, basking in the morning sun as they headed towards the forest.

As they were riding together, Hilda felt her heart beating faster and faster, until she was certain Marianne could hear it. They were so close together, and Hilda again felt that fluttery feeling rising up within her. Marianne held the reins in front while Hilda provided directions to the spot she had picked out earlier that week. Trying to distract herself from the nerves she felt, Hilda began to talk to Marianne about anything and everything. It was wonderful feeling so open with someone, having a person that could listen. Hilda started to worry she was rambling and clammed up all of a sudden. Had she messed up? Did Marianne find her annoying? Her fears were quickly dispersed by Mari asking her to continue the story in that soft, sweet voice that Hilda had grown so fond of. As she continued to speak, encouraged by her companion's quiet assents, Hilda felt herself beginning to relax.

\---

The two girls made their way into a clearing in the forest. Hilda dismounted from Dorte and offered a hand to Marianne. She accepted and hopped gracefully to the ground with a shy smile. Brushing her hair back, Mari reached for the reins and slipped them over a tree branch. She turned back to Hilda who had untied the basket from Dorte's saddle.

Hilda began unpacking the picnic she had prepared, while Marianne picked wildflowers. It didn't take long, and Hilda smiled as she relaxed, watching Mari excitedly collecting blooms. As much as she would have loved to enjoy the happy scene for longer, Marianne soon realized that lunch was ready. Blushing, she returned to the center of the clearing with her bouquet. Hilda noticed that the flowers were mostly blue and white. She was relieved that Marianne liked blue. Hopefully, she would like the ribbon she had chosen.

Engrossed in her thoughts, Hilda took a moment to realize Marianne was holding something else. With a lowered head, the shy girl held out a soft pink peony. Hilda smiled and accepted the flower, brushing her fingers against Mari's. The touch elicited a small gasp from Marianne, and Hilda was certain that she had ruined everything by scaring her. But Mari didn't pull away. Hilda spoke to her softly, thanking her for the gift and offering her food. Marianne seemed to relax once she began to eat the different dishes Hilda had brought, although she still kept her head bowed.

Hilda reached forward and brushed away the hair covering Mari's face. She ran a hand down her cheek, cupping the side of her face and prompting Marianne to meet her gaze. Hilda felt her breath leave, seeing how beautiful her dear Mari looked in the warm afternoon sun. Slowly, Marianne brought a hand up to rest against Hilda's. When she had closed her eyes, Hilda looked away for a moment to reach inside the basket. She withdrew the small box she had so carefully prepared and gently brushed her fingers against Mari's other hand, drawing her attention. Hilda softly tucked the package into her hand and waited for her to open it.

Inside was a handmade necklace, the centerpiece of which was a large blue stone. It was the result of Hilda's hard work for the past two weeks. The pendant was suspended from the same ribbon as Hilda had wrapped the box with. Loops of chain meet in the center of the choker. Marianne pulled her hair up and allowed Hilda to help her attach it, thanking her as she did. Marianne brought a hand to her throat and admired the piece. Hilda felt an immense sense of relief that the gift had gone over well. She usually used less expensive materials when making jewelry as a hobby, but had opted for a semi-precious stone this time. She was glad she had. The necklace caught the sun beautifully and sent small blue ripples across Marianne's collarbone. Hilda smiled.

\---

The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the day. Marianne gathered flowers while Hilda sprawled out on the blanket, basking in the sun's warmth. She chatted with Marianne in a sleepy voice, often interrupting her own sentences with a yawn. When Marianne came back, Hilda, refreshed from her nap, set to work teaching her how to make flower crowns. She helped the other girl weave together branches, foliage, and flowers into circlets. Marianne needed a lot of help with the delicate task, but Hilda was more than happy to assist. Soon they each were wearing flower chains, and Dorte had a large wreath around his neck. Hilda loved how proud Marianne had looked as she had finished her crown. Wreathed in flowers, Mari was beautiful.

\---

As the sun began to lower, Hilda repacked the picnic and prepared to head back to the monastery. The ride back ended too quickly for Hilda's liking. When they reached the stables, she helped Mari dismount again. To her surprise, after helping to feed and brush Dorte for the night, she felt a small hand slip into hers. When Hilda turned toward her companion, Marianne blushed but smiled up at her. The butterflies that had been fluttering in her stomach all day flew away at that smile. Brushing her thumb against the back of Mari's hand, Hilda knew that her relationship with the shyest Golden Deer had changed again. In the starlight, they walked towards the school, together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, check out my current multi-part fic: Mouse. It's a story with all your favourite Golden Deer trying to help Claude when one of his schemes backfires, or maybe it didn't. There's some romance mixed in with a good old-fashioned mystery/heist.
> 
> This was my fluffy Valentine's Day story! I wanted something cute and one-off since I'm having some writer's block with my other work. I don't usually do straight-up romance stories, so fingers crossed it turned out good. Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
